Tyler Hadley trial set for March 2014 in St. Lucie County

FORT PIERCE — The Port St. Lucie teenager accused in 2011 of beating his parents to death inside their family home will face a first-degree murder trial March 10, a judge has ruled.

The trial for Tyler Hadley is expected to last about three weeks, but Circuit Judge Robert Makemson set aside a month, according to his court order.

“I think that four weeks is going to be more than enough time,” Chief Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl said Monday. “I think the judge is just being conservative to make sure we have enough time. So once we get a jury in the box, I don’t think it will take that long.”

Hadley, 19, was 17 on July 16, 2011, when he allegedly used a claw hammer to kill his 54-year-old father Blake and his 47-year-old mother, Mary Joe Hadley. He then sent out invitations via Facebook for a party at the home in the 300 block of Northeast Granduer Avenue.

After the murders, Hadley moved the bodies to his parents’ bedroom, according to authorities. He later told investigators he then invited dozens of friends over for a party. After most of the partygoers left, he showed his best friend the bodies of his parents and hours later, someone called Crime Stoppers to report the killings, prompting police to go to the Hadley home.

His attorneys are expected to rely upon an insanity defense, court papers show.

Up to 200 potential jurors are expected to be summoned for the case to seat a panel of 12 jurors plus two alternates. Bakkedahl said it could take a week to seat a panel, but he’s not anticipating having to relocate the trial despite media exposure the case has received.

“I think we are going to get a jury here,” he said. “I feel confident that we can find 14 citizens who are able to try this case, so I think we will get a jury.”

Hadley’s lead defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Mary Celiodonio said it’s too soon to speculate whether they’ll have trouble seating a jury because of the case’s intense publicity.

“We just need to go through the process,” she said, “and see where it takes us.”

Hadley’s next status conference in court is Dec. 19, but Celiodonio said they will file pretrial motions before then, which could be argued in court before his scheduled appearance.

“I would anticipate that we will have some hearings before the December date,” she said. “I don’t have a time frame, but it will be before that docket call.”